There are many situations that require tethering an inanimate object, an animal, or a vessel in a desired location. For example, if one wishes to anchor a vessel such as a boat or personal watercraft near a shore area, one would typically drive a stake into the shore area adjacent the vessel and attach a line from the vessel to the stake. This requires the use of a hammer or other heavy object to drive the stake into the ground. Another problem is that the tide rises and falls, but the stake has a fixed length and could be pulled from the ground with a rising tide. Furthermore, the vessel tends to move sideways along the shoreline and the stake does not rotate in response to this sideways movement. It is also desirable to secure an animal, a child, or an inanimate object such as, for example, an airplane in particular locations. Again, the same problem presents itself, namely, that a hammer or other heavy object is needed to drive the stake into the ground. Moreover, the stake does not accommodate movement around the stake other than wrapping around the stake the line securing the animal or child. In some situations this results in the line becoming entangled.
It is the object of this invention to provide an anchoring device comprising a single unit containing a hammer element and a stake element that cooperate with each other, allowing the entire unit to change length, and at least in the most preferred embodiment, allowing for rotation of the hammer element with respect to the stake element driven into the ground.
This invention has several features, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of this invention as expressed by the claims that follow, its more prominent features will now be discussed briefly. After considering this discussion, and particularly after reading the section entitled, xe2x80x9cDETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS,xe2x80x9d one will understand how the features of this invention provide its benefits, which include, but are not limited to, ease of manufacture, low cost, convenience of use, a variable length of the anchoring device, and rotation movement between the stake and hammer elements.
The first feature of the anchoring device of this invention is that it includes a hammer element and a stake element, each having a longitudinal axis and connected together with their respective longitudinal axes aligned and at least partially coextensive. The hammer element comprises a tubular member with opposed and closed top and bottom ends. The bottom end has an opening therein that allows an upper portion of the stake element to pass through it and allows the hammer and stake elements move axially relative to each other. There is at least one stop element fixedly attached to the upper portion of the stake element. This stop element upon engaging an end of the hammer element prevents further axial movement in a selected direction.
The second feature is the use of two stop elements and alignment bushings. The stake element has a distal end that is pointed and a proximal end that serves as a second stop element for engaging the top end of the hammer element. The tubular member has a predetermined inside cross-sectional size and configuration and there are a pair of spaced apart bushing members fixedly attached to a section of the upper portion of the stake element. The bushing members each have a cross-sectional size and configuration that is substantially the same as the inside cross-sectional size and configuration of the tubular member. This enables the hammer and stake elements to move relative to each other and maintain the alignment of their longitudinal axes. Preferably, the hammer element and stake element are mounted to rotate relative to each other. This is achieved when the inside cross-sectional size and configuration of the tubular member and the bushings are circular. Specifically, the tubular member is a hollow cylinder and the bushings are cylinders with diameters slightly less than the diameter of the tubular member.
The third feature is that the hammer element and stake have certain preferred characteristics. Preferably, the hammer element has at least one handle member extending therefrom, and at least one attachment member extending therefrom. The attachment member may simply be an eyelid or loop to which a line is attached. Preferably, the stake element has at least one side with a barb element thereon. This barb element assists in holding the stake element in the ground.
The fourth feature is the dimensions of the anchoring device. The hammer element and the stake element are able to move relative to each other a minimum distance of at least about 5 inches, preferably from about 7 to about 24 inches. Preferably, the tubular member has the shape of a hollow cylinder with an inside diameter of from about 1xc2xd to about 6 inches. The hammer element has a length of from about 8 to about 30 inches, and the stake element has a length of from about 8 to about 36 inches.
This invention also includes methods of using the anchoring device to tether a floating vessel along a shore area, to tethering to ground an animal or a child, and to tether to ground an inanimate object.
The method of tethering a floating vessel along a shore area, comprises
(a) providing an anchoring device including unitary, self contained hammer and stake elements in an assembly that enables relative axial movement between the hammer and the stake elements,
(b) axially raising and lowering the hammer element to strike with force the stake element, driving said stake element into the shore area, and
(c) attaching a line from the vessel to the anchoring device.
The method of tethering to ground an animal or a child, comprises
(a) providing an anchoring device unitary, self contained hammer and stake elements in an assembly that enables relative axial and rotational movement between the hammer element and the stake element,
(b) axially raising and lowering the hammer element to strike with force the stake element, driving said stake element into the ground, and
(c) attaching a line from the animal or the child to the anchoring device.
The method of tethering to ground an inanimate object, comprises
(a) providing an anchoring device including unitary, self contained hammer and stake elements in an assembly that enables relative axial movement between the hammer element and the stake element,
(b) axially raising and lowering the hammer element to strike with force the stake element, driving said stake element into the ground, and
(c) attaching a line from the inanimate object to the anchoring device.